I never talked to Bishop Samuel, but those living on the east side were never very friendly to those on the west side. Besides that, Arabs who have sold to Jews items worth much less have been murdered as traitors. Shanks has suggested that Samuel knew he was selling to the Israelis but was willing to do it as long as he was protected by the covert operation in order to make money for his church. Because he couldn't find another non-Israeli buyer (possibly because of fears that Jordan would sue the buyer), he put the ad in the WSJ.